Algernon

Personally I think an SP4 would be superfluous. I'd rather see SP3 go out on a high note, and another new theme come out whenever Space decides to make its next comeback.

Not as bad as I thought. I especially like the underwater STAP. Nice review brosef.

Sadly, I also agree. I think it would be a safe to assume the coffin has been nailed shut on SP3. A new Space theme isn't impossible but I wouldn't get your hopes up. I don't mind the return of City Space Port though. I loved the older sets.

I would be totally on-board for a POTC theme. The figs alone would be worth it.

I would think the difference between UCS and standard models would be obvious. And the Galactic Enforcer had tons of play features- The four fugly "jail" pods attached to either side of the hull complete with targets to break the cell apart, for starters. The play features in Medieval Market Village were slightly less obnoxious. Also, UCS models aren't generally minifig-scale (although I'm not sure I would necessarily want that). Galactic Enforcer is nice, but it's no UCS. I personally love UCS sets- I was thinking about popping for that Jedi Starfighter, even though I don't generally collect SW.

I never would have thought of this. It's like a more plasticy version of building a ship in a bottle. Very clever.

I would love this. The Galactic Enforcer was a nice bit of fan service, but a standalone, completely unique UCS-style Space set would be an absolute dream come true. Personally, I'd hope for a fully realized flagship, without any "play features" (AKA shooty things). I don't pop for LEGOs often these days, but I'd happily lay out a $100 bill for something like this.

I just like the vehicles usually, sometimes the minifigures. It really depends on the theme. For example, I like Atlantis because I've always been attracted to underwater themes and I enjoy the interesting designs. Agents I was less keen on because, despite some excellent sets, I just didn't find the designs appealing. Too James-bondish.

This might very well be the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Who made them believe that this would be profitable? I thought the Bionicle movies were bad, but at least they kind of fit into a movie universe. After all, Bionicle does have a story... mangled and completely unfocused, yes, but a story nonetheless. A LEGO movie with live action? How does that even... no, this HAS to be false.

It's being filmed in Chicago, which is where I live. That is probably the only reason why I will see this movie. Transformers 2 was one of the worst movies I've ever paid money to see... and I've seen Prince of Persia. I did like the first one though.

The Heroes don't really appeal to me at all, but the bad guys are actually really neat. I think Rotor and that Toxic guy are easily the best this theme has to offer, I might even buy them (I stopped buying LEGO action figures after 2005).

The Enforcer is a million times more solidly built, though. The Explorien Starship looks like it's made out of straw.

Well, I think LEGO's increasingly lax attitude towards their no-violence policy should be pretty apparent to anybody who's been following LEGO since the 90s, or heck, even since 2001. I already used Bionicle as an example. In 2001 their swords were distinctly called "tools" and not "weapons" (which was more than a little silly) and the idea was that the Rahi were simply possessed by an evil spirit and could be saved by removing an infected mask. No killing was necessary. Even the Bohrok followed the same concept. Now look at Hero Factory, full of toxic waste-spewing monsters and flame throwers. Pretty unapologetic compared to the early years of Bionicle. Another good example would be the LEGO Space themes of late. Not many people liked Life on Mars. But, it was one of LEGO's most non-violent Space themes thus far. In fact there was no conflict at all unless you were keeping up with the fiction being posted regularly on the official website: the humans had to help the aliens defeat their tyrannical leader. From looking at the sets, the majority of the theme was just a big mining expedition. The only exception was the Red Planet Protector, but again, it didn't appear as if the Mech had anything to shoot at. Mars Mission, however, needs no explanation. As they say, a picture's worth a thousand words. You could also compare the new World Racers to LEGO's older Drome Racer's line. I won't bother going over the differences, but if everybody remembers Drome Racers, then I shouldn't have to. That said, I don't think there's much of a debate. Yes, LEGO has gotten more violent. Sure, a part of me still kind of misses the perceived innocence of the older, classic sets. But I'm not going to make a fuss, because LEGO is one toy company that seems to value quality just as much as marketability, and while we may be getting more violent sets, they're still darn good ones.

Yeah. The only larger sets you could compare it to for size would be the UCS Star Wars sets, which clock in at 3 feet long or more. But those aren't minifig scale, and aren't exactly a fair comparison either since they are purely display sets. Personally I think the Galactic Enforcer is probably the best set from the 2009 SPIII line, since it's just pure fan service. The SPIII base from the new line is also very good, but we're talking flagships here, so yeah. Moot point.

I have the Galactic Enforcer and it's one of the biggest sets in my collection... I don't understand that complaint either. :P

It will definitely be at LEGO Brand stores and probably Toys R Us. No telling if it'll be at target or not. Your best bet would probably be to order it online.

Ice Planet 2002 has got to be on that list somewhere. It was a gorgeously realized theme with consistently good sets. I think that would probably be top for me. After that, I was very fond of UFO, Mars Mission, Space Police III, and perhaps Insectoids. I was also a fan of Life on Mars, although pretty much only for the Mechs. The rest of that theme was pretty bad. I'm not really a classic Space fan. I appreciate the beauty of M-Tron and Space Police I, but I never collected them so I don't think I can really call myself a fan. I didn't start collecting LEGOs until the later 90s.

I suddenly feel extremely guilty for not owning this set. Awesome find!

No, I'm re-wording your argument into something less disguised in self-satisfied babble. The largest thematic change from classic Space to SPIII that you keep focusing on is the inclusion of aliens and the "cops and robbers" scenario. What I fail to understand is why a thematic change inherently makes things bad. The Dark Knight was one of the most well-received comic book movies of all time, and yet it was quite a bit different from this: Sure, SPIII is more lighthearted than, say, Blacktron I, but it's still perfectly LEGO and of all SPIII's faults, the tonal shift is probably the least distressing.

What kind of kids have you been talking to?

...and minifigs look like little yellow people with muffin tops. Your point? So... SPIII sucks because its got aliens in it. Look, there are some valid reasons why you would argue that SPIII is mediocre (for example, the terribly disappointing smaller sets from the 09 wave) but that's not one of them. LEGO Space is about Space. That's it. Space involves aliens (I even hear that aliens are from space). LEGO Space Police is about arresting aliens in Space. That's as LEGO Space as you can get. Just because it's not identical to the 90s doesn't mean it has no place in the LEGO Space universe. I know what you're getting at, but come on.

If you're talking about the Renegade, that set is pretty terrible and I much prefer the Galactic Enforcer. I'll agree though that the highlights from the early 90s are a good deal more visually appealing than most of the SPIII line. Especially that M-Tron rover base thing. I'm just saying, SPIII is still pretty good. Hyperspeed Pursuit in particular is a well-polished, AFOL-oriented set. I don't understand how you could say it's the worst Space theme ever. That just seems ridiculous.

Oh boy. I was afraid this would turn into a beard-stroking "back in the good 'ol days" thread in which we shake our heads disapprovingly at the hooligan youths of today. First I'd like to dispel the illusion that the older generation was more imaginative than the current one. That is just completely baseless and there is no kind of evidence to support it. I'll use myself as an example. I am an audio engineer and have been in that field for three years. Before then, I was into conceptual design and art. Before then I was into creative engineering. Point is, I have always been the artistic type, and I have many friends who are just as (if not more) creatively charged than me. I know some real talents. Yes, I grew up with LEGO. Want to know what I did with my "tame" LEGO sets of the early 90s? I built them into huge weapons and held bloodthirsty battles of epic proportions between my armies of minifigures. It didn't matter that the early Space Police II sets lacked weapons of any kind- the brick carnage was still terrible to behold. Want to know what I'm probably going to do after I'm done typing this post? Start up my Xbox 360 and pop in Dead Space (if you think Call of Duty is violent, have a look at the trailer for Dead Space 2). And several of my friends will probably join me. Uh oh! I guess this means I'm yet another troubled youth victimized by a culture that worships violence. I guess it might seems kinda strange, then, that I've never attacked another human being, have a soft spot for animals, spend the ungodly hours of the morning writing music, and still collect LEGOs. I'm also probably the most polite driver you will ever meet. Actually, it's not strange at all. Because here's the truth of it, kiddies (you may want to sit down). Violence is entertaining. I like beheading a mutant alien zombie with a saw blade. It's intense, the game is creepy, and I have fun when I play it. I actually enjoyed the new Transformers movie. Yes, it was full of stupid and mind-numbing violence, but I still enjoyed every second of it. It also happened to be a box office monster, if that tells you anything. We live in a culture that enjoys violence because humans are programmed to seek conflict. This isn't new. The Romans used to throw people into a gladiator pit and watch them fight to the death. They even threw lions into the arena with the gladiators. Bloody conflict is part of who we are, and it's not going to change (don't believe the hippies). I enjoy violence because it's entertaining. I don't let it define who I am. After I turn off my Xbox 360 I am still the same human being that I was when I powered it up. I will still hold meaningful conversations with my friends, I will still be a ridiculously safe driver, and I will still be a very artistic individual. My love of violence hasn't hindered my creativity. LEGO is becoming more violent because it knows that most children won't buy LEGO sets without some sense of conflict and spectacle. It's what we're attracted to. Now that the toy industry is more crowded than ever, LEGO can't afford to risk customer's dollars over a debate that has raged on since the dawn of time. If it bothers you that much, head on over to the LEGO City forum. Most exciting thing that happens there is when the tractor runs out of fuel. Phew. I'll get off my soap box now. It just really bothers me when I hear people complaining about how violent the new generation is. They are no worse than you, and if you insist that your generation was less focused on violence, I'll be happy to point out that everybody was on a lot of weed when you were growing up.

...whoa. I wish LEGO would sell sets like this instead of running down bare-bones designs with an excess of play features. Great job.

I guess I'm the black sheep here. Right now my display shelf is stocked with the three largest UFO ships, an army of Mars Mission vehicles, and several SPIII sets including the Galactic Enforcer. Insectoids was also one of my favorites, but I lost all of my older sets. I can understand the Mars Mission hate, since the aliens were truly terrible, but the actual ship designs were pretty cool and there are several great sets (especially that huge tank-like mining walker). But I don't see why people hate UFO. Sure, the bigger sets were wonky, but the Warp Wing Fighter is an excellently detailed set (currently has a near-perfect review average on Brickset) and the minifigs are absolutely amazing. And I can't understand the SPIII hate for the life of me. It's the best LEGO Space theme we've had in ages. The ship designs are great and we have a whole slew of awesome new alien molds. I can understand not loving it, but the worst LEGO Space theme ever? What are you smoking?